Can RVs Park Overnight At Rest Areas?

Above, the Coalinga-Avenal rest area off Interstate 5 in California. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One advantage of RVing is that when one gets tired while on the road, they can find a campground or RV park to stop for the night.

But what if there are no campgrounds or RV parks in the vicinity? An obvious solution is to stop at a roadside rest area (should one happens to be in the area). 

I have stayed at a rest area once to overnight. That was six years ago in Missouri. Fortunately, overnighting in the Missouri rest area was allowed.

RV Life has an article on overnighting in rest areas.

They begin it with:

Driving an RV or hauling a trailer when you are tired is dangerous. It just doesn’t make sense to keep going when your brain and body need to sleep.

Highway engineers knew this when they put many rest areas on most of the major routes throughout the US and Canada. These rest stops are usually set up with a parking area, restrooms, and a few picnic tables. Really awesome rest stops have some nice trails or walkways to stretch legs and refresh. There are even a few rest areas with Wi-Fi access and/or a small store where you can buy souvenirs and refreshments. These days, it’s not unusual to find rest stops with electric vehicle charging stations. 

Rest areas are plentiful along most highways because driving is hard work, and sooner or later we can all benefit from a visit to the restroom, a stretch of our legs, and maybe even a nap. If the sun is setting, it can be tempting to just park for the night. 

 To read more, go here.